Why the Wonder Boy Killed Himself
by Sqishy
Summary: Axel is given the task of watching Roxas, a boy who remembers nothing further back than a week. This seems to be much more than some old babysitting job, and Axel's suspicions start to come to light when he begins piecing together Roxas's past.
1. Bells of Death

Author's Note; This is my first fanfiction. And most likely the only one I'll be doing for a long time.

Disclaimer: Everything is not mine and goes to Square Enix & Disney except for the plot.

* * *

_"Mass murder occurred last night in the Central Station, forty people died while several others were injured. The suspected murderer, Xion Stampher, has been taken into custody. Her sentence has yet to be decided…"_ Axel listened to the radio on his phone, hoping to catch the weather but only managing to catch a portion of the news. The redheaded adult sighed. He pulled one of his ear buds out and glanced around to see where he was, noting that he was close to work. Axel worked, happily, at the school just a block away from his home. He was the teacher of a ninth grade class, more like classes considering that he had a different one each hour. He taught math, being in Honors and AP math classes throughout his school like. People were usually shocked at this when the flame haired, tattooed, and pierced man told them this. He made sure to take out his piercings, which happened to be in his ears, and to put his hair back whenever he went to teach. Couldn't be looking too unprofessional on the job.

Axel shoved his ear bud back in, listening further in on the story._ "Xion's trial will be held sometime in early November, but we are still awaiting more information on the subject. A candle lighting for all those who lost their lives will be next Sunday, surely having their loved ones commemorating them. If you have any information on Xion Stampher's involvement, or any other suspects, please contact us…"_ Xion? That name sounded very familiar to Axel the more he heard it. He'd tried to recall where he'd heard the name elsewhere as he unlocked the main entrance to the school, shrugging his shoulders when a blank was drawn at Xion's name.

The building was empty, students weren't supposed to be arriving until an hour later. The heat was turned on and the windows were all closed because the season outside was beginning to turn to that of one that's cold. Axel would have to start driving his car instead of walking, much to his dislike. He actually like walking because it meant he got to keep up a form, not to mention the cold air made him feel much more awake than the black coffee he drank each morning. The "cool" janitor was bobbing his head off in the corner. He was "cool" because he had a dragon tattoo that traveled up the length of his arm and a few piercings that littered his face. Axel hadn't been the one that dubbed him "cool" though, it was the students. The seemingly rebellious ones took an obvious liking to the man.

Axel headed off to his classroom, where he would sit for the next eight hours. He loved teaching, much to anyone's surprise. The students were nice, even the ones that caused trouble, and never really did anything worthy of suspension. Seifer was the only student he really ever had trouble with, mostly because the male seemed to fine it funny to speak out or act out. He wasn't even in ninth grade, he was in tenth. Seifer was only in Axel's math class because the boy failed his Freshmen year and had to retake the course.

The redheaded teacher pulled out the tests he graded the few days prior and stacked them on his desk. He was going to be passing them out sometime during the class, seeing as the students were usually antsy to know what their grade was. He glanced at the clock, noting that there was about twenty minutes before students would start showing up, and a half an hour until they would be required to sit down and learn.

A buzzing sound emitted from his pocket, as well as soft vibrating. Axel's phone had gone off, so he pulled it out to check who was calling.

_Saïx…_

Had the phone been set to Saïx's ringtone, Axel would be laughing his ass off, for Saïx's custom ringtone was Born This Way by Lady Gaga. Axel pressed the green button glowing on the screen, bringing the phone to his ear. He was wondering why his best friend would decide to call now, seeing as he knew that they both had work at this time. What could be so important?

"What do you want right now, Saïx? Don't you have a job you need to be attending? Not to mention my first class will be getting here sometime in the next fifteen minutes," Axel sighed loudly, putting emphasis on how annoyed he was with the blue haired man. If Axel got caught on his phone he would surely be in trouble with his boss…

"It's really important," Saïx replied calmly, yet his tone seemed rushed. Axel was about to ask what it could possibly be, but his door was being knocked on.

"Listen Saïx, I know this is important, but can it wait for a few hours? I have a job to tend to!" Axel pressed the end button on his phone after a few protests from Saïx, shoving the damn thing in his pocket. The persisted knocking continued and seemed to even become louder. Axel tried his best to act professional towards the annoying noise.

"Just a second!" Axel huffed and hurried to the door. He opened it quickly, suddenly peering at the top of a head. A head covered in dark charcoal hair to be exact. Confused, Axel looked down, staring at a man who looked very serious.

"Hello," the short man said. Axel raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Um, hi? What brings you to my classroom," Axel glanced at the clock, "twelve minutes before class starts?"

The man laughed. "Class doesn't start in twelve minutes. The students start showing up in twelve minutes, but begin learning in twenty two." Smart ass.

"Excuse m-"

"I know you're Axel, or more formally: Mr. Chakram, and I just wanted to tell you that I will be teaching in the classroom next to yours from this day on. You will know me as Zexion. Have a nice day, Axel," Zexion practically purred, grinning oddly and striding into the classroom next to Axel's.

"Weird…" Axel murmured, scratching the back of his head as he backed into his classroom, preparing to teach.

* * *

Axel was having trouble paying attention which he taught the class. Seifer's occasional outburst and the questions of the student's seemed to not faze him in the slightest. He was too busy trying to think of what Saïx could have possibly wanted to tell him. The red head was itching to snatch his phone out from his pocket, though he knew that would be risking his job.

Another huge distraction was the teacher next door. Zexion was creepy, there was no mistaking that. Axel felt the need to avoid the man, wouldn't want to end up murdered or something after all.

* * *

"Come on, pick up…" Axel groaned, gripping his phone tightly. He was attempting to call Saïx back; the urge to know what was so important was practically eating him alive.

"Axel! Don't hang up on me like that again!" Axel immediately pulled the phone from his ear, glaring at the device.

"Gee thanks, I might never be able to call you again due to my now broken ear drum!"

"Stop complaining. There is something extremely important I need you to do. I don't want any questions, you just have to trust me on this," Saïx said, tone calm.

Axel was currently pulling his house keys out of his pocket. "Just spit it out…" He shoved the key at the keyhole, missing and adding to the millions of scratches on the red paint around the doorknob.

"I need you to watch my… cousin."

There was no time for Saïx to explain, for Axel began laughing uncontrollably, shaking so fiercely that he dropped his keys. Shit… Axel bent down and grabbed the shiny object, shoving it into the keyhole this time and opening his door.

"I am a teacher, not a day care owner. I am not watching your stupid cousin, who I've never even met, just because you want me to. There's not even anything in it for me."

"Axel, you don't understand. He has nowhere to go, please just do this. There will be something in it for you, I promise." There was a pause. Axel was about to let out a blunt 'hell no,' but Saïx said something that would leave Axel's blood to turn to ice.

"I'll pay your mother's debt."

"Are you kidding me? She's still in the hospital, recovering from that goddamn accident, don't joke around with me. She has thousands of dollars in debt to pay to that hospital. They haven't even said that she'll for sure live yet. So please Saïx, do not joke around," Axel pleaded nervously.

"Oh I'm not. I have plenty of money, you know that. I could pay her debt without making so much as a dent in my account. All I need you to do is watch over my—cousin."

Axel felt like his grip on the phone was slipping. He hurriedly scrambled to sit down so he himself wouldn't fall. His knees felt weak. He took position on the black leather sofa in the middle of his living room. He would be visiting his mom in the hospital tomorrow, most likely going to be in a grim mood because that could be the last time he'd ever see her. She had a high chance of slipping at any time.

"I'll watch your cousin as long as you pay off her debt," Axel said, not caring about anything than seeing his mom healthy again at the moment. He would be sure to ask questions later, Saïx wasn't getting off that easy, but for now he would just agree to whatever the man said. It was true that Saïx was rich, he had found a breakthrough in medical technology that had scientists and doctor's all around the world practically dumping money into the man's pockets. Axel was sure he would feel guilty too, he hated taking things from other people, but realistically, there was no way he would ever earn enough to pay off his mom's debt, and here Saïx was with money being held out in the open. And idiot would pass up this offer. All Axel had to do was watch the kid… right? So there were a few questions he had…

"Great, so you'll do it then!" Saïx nearly shouted, obviously enthusiastic.

"Wait, Saïx, how old is your cousin anyways? What's his name? What's he like? When would he get here?" Axel asked, pinching the phone between his shoulder and ear so he could turn on the TV. Saïx sighed on the other end of the phone.

"I knew that there would be questions coming. His name is Roxas, he's seventeen. He's… well Axel, it's pretty hard to say this, but I don't know how to describe him. He acts kind of like a child or a dog—no, scratch that, puppy. He's just really clueless about things, okay?" Saïx sounded like he was getting agitated, which was confusing to Axel because he was sure he hadn't said anything to piss the guy off. Roxas huh? The name rang a bell somewhere in Axel's mind, but he just brushed it off because it was his best friend's cousin, so of course it should sound familiar. "He'll be there in two days, so tidy up that dump you call your home and set up some room for him. When you meet him, don't make him too upset, he had a really fragile mind state and it would be benefitting to both of you if you tried to keep him happy."

"Okay~ And my home is no dump, it's fitting for my age if I do say so myself," Axel bit back, smirking to himself. Saïx could be such a killjoy sometimes. It made Axel wonder how they even became best friends in the first place. Saïx and him were practically opposites.

"Whatever. Be ready in two days or else you'll be suffering."

"Yeah."

"You'll receive a large portion of money once a week for your mom. Sorry if this feels like blackmail or something, it's really not. Trust me Axel. I just need you to watch my cousin and this is my way of paying you."

"Of course! I hadn't thought of it as blackmail or anything. I think you got the term mixed up with something else."

And then Saïx hung up. Axel sighed, running a hand through his mess of red hair. He had really gotten himself into a disaster waiting to happen, but making sure that his mom would see the outside of that hospital was worth it.

* * *

Wow, slow and short start. The title really needs improvement. It's hard uploading stuff to this site. Everything is probably really confusing right now, but there was a lot of foreshadowing. The plot I have in mind is one of my strongest yet, out of the stories I've tried to make [on other websites.] I also decided to post this because it's AkuRoku day and I wanted to contribute something. Other chapters will be longer. Please review with lots of encouragement~


	2. Peonies & Motherly Adive

**Author's Note:** Couldn't keep myself from updating. I want to reach the 20,000 word mark quickly, but my chapters are pretty short so far, though the next one is long. I've reached the 20,000 mark by the fifth chapter on a past story... Anyways, I like how this is turning out. No reviews so far, one favorite and three follows. Sorry, I like numbers... I have a habit of counting them, so, yeah.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own characters or the Kingdom Hearts saga, Square Enix & Disney do. Gladly own the plot though.

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Axel awoke early the next day, eager to go visit his mom in the hospital, though visits were usually bitter-sweet to him. He was still very unsure whether this would be the last day he got to see his mom. He wanted to make the most of it, and possibly make the rest of her life happy. He owed her that much. Axel was also in a rush considering he had to set up another room for the boy who would be coming to stay at him home in a day… or two days. Saïx had said two days, so did he mean yesterday and this day or today and tomorrow? Axel was unsure and made the choice not to confuse himself.

There was a flower shop that was a few blocks from Axel's home, so he decided that he would get his mom some flowers. He knew that she liked those. She had grown a garden that had neighbor's envying her for months, but once winter came, she would bundle up inside the house and wait until the weather was warm enough to plant more flowers. Axel never helped her because he was too busy doing other things than to help her. The redhead regretted every day where he didn't spend it helping his mom, no matter what way it would have been. If he could go back in time, he would be helping her wipe his own ass from when he was a toddler.

Axel pulled himself from bed, thanking the high heavens that it was his day off. He already knew it was, for those were the only days he could arrange to visit his mom, but he was still thankful every time. Aerith Gainsborough was his mom's name, maiden name taken back after Axel's dad left shortly after he was born. Axel never wanted to track down the man because there was no sense in getting to know someone like that. The only ugly reminder he had was his last name, other than that, he would forget everything about his dad if he could, not that he remembered much.

Once Axel was finished getting dressed, casually, he went and made himself some coffee. The reason Axel liked black coffee so much was because the crème filled stuff was just too sweet. Axel hated sweet food, he liked spicy, salty, sour, and strong flavored things, but not sweet. He took note of the silence that filled his house. His silence, the silence that he liked, which would soon be broken by the new guest. Axel would have to paint in big letters on his wall 'this is for Mom' if he wanted to keep from getting agitated or giving up on the deal.

The coffee maker beeped, snapping Axel out of his thoughts. He cautiously grabbed the pot, having been burned more than once or twice being careless. The coffee was black and pure, so Axel poured himself a cup and turned on his heel, heading towards the front door. His car was black with a red stripe running down the side. Axel was never much of a car person, he was more into other things, such as his teaching. He opened the door to his car and set his coffee in the cup holder. The flower shop would take less than ten minutes to drive to.

Axel arrived in a matter of seven minutes, also finishing his coffee in that time. The bright pink head of hair that belonged to the owner of the flower shop could be seen clearly through the window. Marluxia was his name, or at least Axel thinks it was. He always had a hard time remembering because he had so many names to remember and he was usually in a rush. It seemed the pink haired shop keeper was aware of that, he never seemed to care when Axel would call him by the wrong name or knock over a flower pot on the way out.

"Going to visit the lovely Aerith again?" Marluxia questioned as soon as the bell on his shop door rung. He was gently tending to a patch of roses lined up along the window. The walls were made of glass, so it can't really be called windows actually…

"Yeah, my mom. It is my day off after all. Could I get the bouquet that I usually get?" Axel requested. Marluxia nodded, standing up from his spot and walking to the room behind the counter. He disappeared from view for a minute or two and reemerged holding a large and colorful bouquet.

"I added some extra Peonies because I know Aerith loves them. They're my treat," the pink haired shop keeper said almost too happily. Axel smiled, handing over a fifty, bouquets were expensive, and rushed out of the shop just as he'd always done on the days he would visit his mom.

* * *

Axel pulled into the parking lot of the hospital sloppily. He hadn't bothered buckling on the way there because there was no time in his mind. The bouquet he had purchased from Marluxia's flower shop rested gently in the passenger's seat, unharmed from the rushed driving Axel had done. He'd remembered to slow down around the areas that patrol cars usually rested and minded the cars around him, so his driving wasn't all that reckless.

The parking lot didn't take long for Axel to cross. He was inside the hospital in a matter of minutes, bouquet in hand. The nurse who usually took care of his mom was walking past the entrance as he entered. Axel smiled at how lucky this moment had to be. Perhaps she had good news on his mom's condition.

"Tifa! You got any news on Ma that would be helpful to me?" Axel asked, grinning wide enough to blind a stadium. Tifa bit her lip,

"Sorry Axel. She's doing the same as she was last week. She's awake and all, but she needs a lot of monitoring. I hope you can understand the damage done to her won't just vanish within a short period of time. It will either gradually cease or there could be a bad outcome," Tifa answered, truthful and blunt. A normal person would probably become angry with her, telling her that what she's saying is rude and that they could have done better without knowing these things. But Axel was indifferent to it, it's the same news he's been getting for two years now. It was on and off mostly. Aerith would seem fine and be out of the hospital for a month or longer, only to have something go wrong again and Axel would have to rush her straight back in where she would stay for weeks.

"Alright. Thanks though, I'll be headed to her room now," Axel said sadly. Tifa passed him a look of sympathy and turned down the hallway that was left of his mothers. Axel counted the white tiles of the hospital floor as he walked, flowers clutched tightly in his arms. He greeted some of the usual patients that were wandering around at this time, they had come to like him after seeing him wandering around so much.

Room 107: Aerith's room. Axel pushed down the handle, slowly opening the door. His mom was seated in the chair next to her bed, still hooked up to an IV and heart monitor, but reading. Axel slipped inside quietly, trying not to disturb her reading.

"I know you're there Axel. It's hard not to notice the door opening," Aerith muttered, eyes still trained on the book.

"Oh darn. I was hoping to sneak up on you and surprise you. Oh well."

"Whether you do or don't surprise me, I'm always so happy to see you."

"Same here Ma. I brought you something~" Axel strode lightly over to where Aerith sat. He got her flowers every time he came to visit, but she always seemed overjoyed whenever they came into view no matter how many times she saw them.

"Thank you honey," Aerith gushed, slowly standing to her feet. She hugged her son tightly, grasping the bouquet that he had given her tightly between her porcelain fingers. Axel hugged his mom back, arms encircling her tiny waist. She'd lost a bit of weight after entering the hospital, but being a place meant for health care, she was healthy aside from the medical problems that kept occurring. "I'll make sure to keep these ones living as long as I can, it's hard to do much when the doctors won't let me have a pot of dirt in here."

"Wish I could help you there, but I can't. You know I would give you the world if I could," Axel assured her.

"And I would do the same for you. You are my only son after all," Aerith said as she went to the vase that was set on the white table next to the hospital bed. She kept letters and personal trinkets in the drawers.

"Mom, in all seriousness, I don't know what I'd do if you died," Axel said sadly. Aerith's eyes shot up, giving Axel a sad look of confusion.

"Sit." She led him over to the bed, sitting beside him once he'd seated himself. Aerith grabbed her son's hand, clutching it tightly in her's before looking him in the eyes sincerely. "Axel, _if_ I die, I don't want you to think that's the last time you'll ever see me. Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I stopped existing. I will love you even after I'm gone, so don't think that will change. I want you to make the best choices you can possibly make, find someone who loves you as much as I will. Actually, that one's pretty impossible; it's hard to match up to a mother's love. Just remember this conversation when my time does come and I don't think you'll be as sad." Aerith pressed a motherly kiss to her son's forehead, smiling sweetly at him once she pulled away. Axel was well aware that she still babied him, but he loved it because it was her way of showing him how much she loved him.

"Well, maybe your time won't be coming so soon. Saïx offered to pay off your debt if I watched over his cousin," Axel told her excitedly.

"R-Really?" She asked, stunned. Axel nodded, pulling his mom into another right hug. "That's great! But I do feel a bit bad for taking some of his money. I know he has a lot, but don't you feel a little guilty?" Aerith looked nervous.

"Nah, I mean, I'm watching his cousin and he's paying me. All the payments will go to your medical bills and debt. Why would I feel guilty about that?" Axel sneered, smirking at her. She just smiled and nodded.

"Just want to make sure you know what you're getting into. There aren't any other things that are required from you, correct?" Aerith asked her son as he stood. Axel would have to leave soon, he hadn't intended on staying long, though he would if he could.

"Not that I know of. Knowing Saïx, his cousin is probably going to be a pain in the ass."

"Don't degrade someone you don't even know. It's mean."

"You know you're too kind for your own good Ma. But think about, Saïx is an old man in a young guy's body. Respect this, rules that, don't touch this, don't point, Axel, it's rude."

Aerith laughed at the end of her son's sentence. "It makes everyone wonder how you two are best friends."

"Don't get me wrong, he was a great guy to be around in high school, but ever since he got into that stupid lab that he works in, everything is serious and top secret. What if his cousin is just like him? Then I'll have to deal with some cold shouldered genius who probably won't even tell me his birthday because it's so top secret," Axel stated dramatically.

"If that's the case then you'll just have to deal with it. I want to meet this boy when he comes to stay with you," Aerith said, almost sounding like she was going to be welcoming another member into her family. Technically she would be, this boy would be staying with Axel after all.

"Yeah, well, don't get excited, it's only temporary. Don't get too attached. I don't know exactly how long he'll be staying with me but it can't be that long. In fact, the kid is leaving once your debt is paid off, I'm pretty sure," Axel muttered. Aerith nodded, taking her seat back in the chair in the corner.

Her and Axel exchanged goodbyes, the red head hurrying out the door. He had to make his way to the grocery store and stock up on food. It was a habit of Axel's to forget to buy normal things such as milk, butter, bread, cereal, etc. He either survived off of coffee or fast food on weekdays. Saïx was a health nut, so Axel would have to buy vegetables and fruits to keep his cousin, _Roxas_, healthy.

Axel made his way down to the commons area, parking off to the side before heading to Twilight Town's one and only supermarket. If you searched enough, you could probably find a jumbo jet for sale somewhere. The place was _that_ big. He headed inside, threading through aisle after aisle. Axel grabbed a cart full of every variety of food he could think of. It sure would rack up a huge sum of money, which he hoped Saïx would pay off.

An hour later Axel arrived back to his house, grabbing the groceries from the back of his car when he began heading in. He nearly dropped everything just trying to open the door. A couple jabs at the wood and an unlocked door later, Axel was inside. He put everything in the pantry and fridge, content with knowing that he would be good on food for a week or two. Having two mouths to feed around here would mean everything would be gone twice as fast.

"The shit I do for you Ma," Axel whispered to himself. What was he even going to do with the kid when it came time for him to work? Would he just lock him up, enroll him in the school, or leave him somewhere else? He could always leave the k—Roxas with his mom at the hospital while he was gone. Aerith had a way with people that made it impossible to hate her, so he was sure that there wouldn't be a problem there. His mom was a social butterfly when the opportunity came, so she probably wouldn't mind either.

Axel ran a hand over his face, turning to go make up a bed on the couch. The black leather was soft, but it would be even softer if it was covered in a blanket. He didn't have any spare blankets in a closet anywhere, so he had to grab one of the two blankets off of his bed. He ended up throwing his red comforter over the couch, leaving a black blanket on his bed. The black blanket was just as warm as the comforter, so he didn't mind.

Much cleaning and rearranging later, Axel was satisfied with the way his home looked. It still looked of his personality, but there was more room and quite enough for two people. Roxas would either be there tomorrow or the day following it. At least Axel was prepared.

He walked back to his room, jumping onto his bed and lying on his side. He hadn't meant to, but Axel fell asleep.

* * *

Couldn't keep from more foreshadowing, though you probably missed it... And if you caught it then you probably got it wrong because it is _not_ what you would think. I can't go in your mind so I wouldn't know. Anyways, there will be Roxas in the next chapter. Sorry for prolonging it so much, it's a habit that I need to break sooner or later...


	3. Smiles Born from Stress Balls

Author's Note: Wow this was a lot longer than the other chapters. Things will start to pick up after this, sorry for the slow start!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix and Disney do.

* * *

Axel awoke to what he wished was his alarm, but was instead someone banging on his door. He looked around, then at the clock. It was four in the fucking morning. He didn't have to be out of bed until at least another hour. Every minute of sleep was precious to him. Teaching could be fun, but when it came to the sleep that was just before the teaching, that was a different story.

"I'm coming!" Axel shouted, rolling out of bed. He landed on the floor, groggily pulling himself up. The constant banging began to make his head pound, so he rushed through the doorway of his bedroom to the doorway of his house. There was a shadow that could be made out through the darkness outside his window. Axel switched on the porch light, glaring sleepily at none other than… Saïx.

"What do you want? It's too early to wake me up, I thought you of all people would know that," Axel whined, clearly irritated, as he swung open his door.

"He's here," Saïx stated, unmoved by Axel's rant. _This early?!_ Axel thought to himself, more awake than he was two minutes ago. It was a mystery how Saïx's cousin could be up and about this early, if he was. Axel peered over Saïx to see his sleek, black limousine situated on the street in front of his house.

"Is he in there?" The red head asked his best friend. Saïx nodded, motioning for Axel to wait as he turned to go open the back door of the limo. The neighbors surrounding Axel's house would probably be in hysteria if they saw a limo parked on their street at four in the morning. 'I wonder which celebrity visited us' would probably be floating around the neighborhood tomorrow. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case.

Axel's stone hard gaze was focused in the direction of the limo, wavering only when two men in suits came towards the porch, a small suitcase one of their hands. He assumed it was Roxas's luggage, so he allowed them to set the cases behind him. Emerald eyes squinted as Saïx opened the door he was headed for in the first place. Roxas was not the way Axel was expecting. He was expecting a sharp teenager dressed in only name brand clothing and a glare sharp enough to cut diamonds.

From his position on the porch, Axel could tell that Roxas was short—even for being seventeen. His hair was spiked, mostly on the right side of his head. His skin was extremely pale, almost as pale as Axel's mom's… from what Axel could see in the darkness. He couldn't really make out what the kid was wearing until Saïx led him closer. Axel had to contain a gasp, which was threatening to come out. Roxas was wearing an elbow-lengthed black shirt. The collar to the shirt is a deep red. Along with that shirt is a pair of tan cargo pants that had been cut just above his ankles. Axel notices that he's barefoot, which was confusing and weird all at the same time. What caused Axel to gasp wasn't any of that though; it was the bandages that patched Roxas's arms from the wrist up. The kid seemed so happy though—he had one of the biggest grins plastered on his face.

"Why is he all bandaged up?" Axel asked without thinking. Saïx's gaze darted straight to Axel's. The blue haired man's mood seemed to darken considerably. It made Axel wonder if he had perhaps asked the wrong question. Saïx was extremely secretive and all, but Axel didn't think that it applied to his cousin.

"I don't think that's any of your concern. Don't touch his bandages either, he's perfectly capable of changing them himself," Saïx said sternly. Axel was taken aback by the way his best friend was talking to him. Saïx was never this mean and cold shouldered even if he was in a pissy mood. He either really cares about his cousin or can't wait to get rid of the kid. There was another question that came to Axel's mind, but Saïx quickly tried to avoid that by shoving Roxas in front of him. Blue eyes that resembled crystals found their way to Axel's. Roxas's grin grew, enough so that it would make anyone wonder how a boy like him was so energetic at four in the morning. Saïx leaned down to Roxas's ear, whispering, "This is Axel, Roxas. I told you all about him, remember?" Roxas nodded, eyes never moving.

Saïx stood, straightening out and pulling an envelope out of his jacket's pocket and handing it to Axel. "This is everything you'll need to know to keep Roxas happy. One of the suit cases is his personal items—and the other is his more important things. I don't mind if you go through either. He mostly has clothes and bandages. There are also pills he is supposed to take, and if there are even so little as six pills left, I want you to call me so that I can get a refill. **Never** let him miss his medication. He takes one in the morning and one in the evening. He's already had his morning dose, so I expect he'll have his second sometime around ten tonight. Understood?" Saïx's tone was as hard as steel. His voice never faltered, never skipped a beat, and never even paused to take a breath. Axel almost felt as if his best friend wasn't even there. It was some undercover CIA agent or something that had taken over his body. He was that serious. It made Axel uneasy. How Roxas dealt with the man was beyond him. This boy seemed so carefree and happy, everything that Saïx wasn't at the moment.

"Bye Saïx!" The young blonde finally spoke before Saïx even announced his leaving. His voice was deeper than Axel expected, but it still held youth in it that a young teenager entering puberty would have. Though, being seventeen, Roxas was well beyond that stage of his life. Saïx turned briskly without so much as a word, leaving Axel and Roxas standing on his porch alone. Axel was unsure how to approach him, so instead he picked up the boys luggage, gesturing for him to follow before disappearing back into his house. Roxas followed, still barefoot, in the older man's tracks.

Axel made sure that Roxas was seated on the couch comfortably. He wanted to have a chat with Roxas before deciding where he put him in two hours, when he would be at work.

"So… did you know you were coming to stay with me?"

"Yup."

"I have a few questions for you, but I guess you can't really expect me not to."

"Alrighty."

"First off, why do you have so many… medical things happening? Like, the pills and bandages." Axel was afraid that he was prying too deep at a much too fast pace, but like the surprising boy Roxas turned out to be, his grin widened and he seemed ready to answer as quickly as possible.

"I dunno. I'm not allowed to take the things off my arms unless I'm changing them. And Saïx says that the pills make me feel better! Just like my smiley face!" Axel was confused with what Roxas meant by 'smiley face,' but the boy quickly pulled a yellow ball out of his pocket. It had a large smile painted on it, along with a few cracks in that paint. Beneath Roxas's fingers, Axel could tell that it was a stress ball.

"Where'd you get… that?" Axel pried curiously.

"At the store, silly! I said it made me smile because it smiled too so I had Saïx buy it," Roxas chirped. Axel nodded slowly, becoming more and more confused by this boy. He didn't even seem the slightest bit worried that he would be staying with this man that he's never met before. The boy was just weird in general. Axel was used to meeting different varieties of students, but this kid was like an entirely different species so far.

"Well, you don't have time to sleep. I'm going to call my mom and see if you can stay with her while I work. If she says yes, you're going to have to get used to her. I work five days of the week because I teach. I got the day off yesterday because the school realizes I have a mom in the hospital, so I get a day off every once and a while. I get weekends off too, though I'll most likely be cooped up grading hundreds of papers," the elder of the two said, glancing at Roxas through his cat like eyes.

"But… Saïx said that I have to stay with you. Staying with your mom would mean I don't get to stay by you. That makes no sense. I should go to work with you," Roxas said, head tilted to show his confusion. He was squeezing the stress ball in between in fingers.

"No, Roxas, I don't think you understand. Yes, you get to stay at my house with me, but you don't get to go to work with me. I'm not allowed to bring you, okay? Now sit here and do what it is you do. I'm going to go get dressed and then I'm going to call my mom. After that, you're either going to go stay with her at the hospital she's in. If you can't stay there, then I'm gonna have to trust that you can stay here alone and be good. After work, I'll either pick you up or meet you back here so that we can unpack your things," Axel explained. Roxas seemed a bit slow, but nodded after processing the information.

* * *

"What has you calling so early in the morning?" A very tired Tifa mumbled. Axel rolled his eyes. His mom's nurse should learn to be kinder to him. He was her favorite patient's-son after all.

"I have this kid at my house. I need to know if it'd be alright if I dumped him at the hospital while I worked. I'm sure that Ma wouldn't mind a visitor."

"I guess that's alright. I'd have to clear it with my supervisor though. Then of course I'd have to clear it with your mom. Just wait a few minutes and I'll be back with the answer," Tifa explained, the phone going silent. Axel took the opportunity to tie his hair back. It was neat and orderly, the only hairs out of place were the ones that were too short to be pulled behind his head. He dusted some bronzer over his tattoos. He wanted to make them as unnoticeable as possible when he went into work. It didn't look very professional to have tattoos on your face, especially if they came from a night of drunken escapades. A muffled noise from his phone alarmed him. Tifa had been trying to get his attention since the phone wasn't near his ear at the moment.

"What is it Tifa?" Axel asked in a sing song voice.

"They all said it was fine. Aerith was saying she's really excited to meet him, even though you woke her up so early. Bad Axel." It was almost as if Tifa's playful pout was audible. Axel merely laughed, telling her that he would be at the hospital in a half an hour. It was bad enough that he had to wake up even earlier now to get himself and Roxas ready before taking him to the hospital.

Walking out of his room, Axel stared at the couch. Roxas was sitting in the same exact spot as before, only this time he was bouncing the stress ball off the ground. It's poor smile was eating dirt.

"Time to go. Do you need to bring spare bandages or anything? I'll be picking you up at 2:30 this afternoon. Hopefully Ma can keep you entertained while I'm gone." With the way Roxas had acted so far, Axel was pretty sure you could give the kid a string and he could keep himself entertained.

"No spare bandages. I change them… um, I think once a day before I go to sleep," Roxas said. Axel nodded, remembering that Roxas didn't have any shoes. He mentally slapped himself, heading over to Roxas's personal suitcase. He rifled through it for a few seconds, only finding a couple pairs of socks.

"Here, put these on," Axel told Roxas as he threw a pair of socks at him. Roxas blinked, doing as Axel told and pulling the socks onto his feet. Axel grabbed Roxas's hand once he was finished, rushing him out the door. Roxas struggled to hold onto his ball while being dragged along.

"Stop it! My arm hurts!" The young boy shrieked. Axel immediately let go, unaware that tugging the boy along would hurt his bandaged arms.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to. Just get in the passenger's side and sit. I promise I won't grab your arm again," Axel said apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I forgive you," Roxas replied immediately. His smile was back in its place on his face, looking as though it could stretch from ear to ear. The young blond rushed to the passenger side before opening the door and jumping in. Axel was momentarily stunned by the blond's mood change. He quickly realized that he would have to get used to this. Aerith would love the boy, he would surely enjoy being babied by her and she would enjoy babying him.

"You have to use your seatbelt," Axel pointed out once the car had started. He was already buckled, but Roxas was making no move to buckle himself. Roxas tilted his head again, rolling the smiling stress ball around in his lap.

"Seat… belt?" He asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, it's to make sure that you don't die while we're driving," the red headed pointed out blunt.

"Die? What?! Let me out! I don't want to die!" The now terrified youth shouted, banging on the window.

In a panic, Axel quickly slapped a hand over Roxas's mouth. "You won't die. If we get into an accident, which will not happen, you need to be buckled so you don't fly through the windshield and die. But that won't happen," Axel assured.

"If it won't happen, then why do I need to buckle?"

"In case it does happen."

"But you said it won't!"

"Well, I lied. There's a tiny chance that it could happen."

"Don't lie. It's really bad for you. Liars can't be trusted and people will stop trusting you. I'm going to pretend you didn't lie, that way I can trust you."

"You're such a little kid."

"No! Saïx said I was seventeen. Almost an adult. So you can… you should shut the," the blond faltered, continuing after a few seconds of deep thought, "shut the shit fuck up!"

Axel sat stunned for a second, turning to the blond. Where had the innocent kid he'd known for a matter of an hour and a half learned such foul language? Saïx probably.

"Ouch, but not ouch enough. I need to teach you how to swear properly," Axel all but laughed. The blond youth was blushing, embarrassed by the man laughing at him. He didn't get what was so funny. He said some mean words to Axel, so shouldn't Axel be sad? Roxas thought that over, realizing he didn't want to make Axel sad. Nobody should ever be sad!

"I'm sorry!" Roxas yelped, squeezing the stress ball. Axel blinked, confused by Roxas's apology that seemed to come out of nowhere. Roxas tried even further to make Axel happy by buckling himself in, which made him extremely uncomfortable, but he saw Axel smile. Mission accomplished.

* * *

The car ride to the hospital was quiet. Roxas was focusing on the lights of the city that seemed to surround the car. Axel was trying to figure out Roxas. The kid's brain was surely floating in a different universe. The medication he was taking was probably for some mental problem, that's all Axel could think of. It was the only reasonable explanation. He couldn't make sense of the bandages that covered around Roxas's arms. Maybe the kid was in some horrible accident.

"We're here Roxas. You can unbuckle now," stated Axel. Roxas tore himself from the window, nodding at the man and attempting to unbuckle. Being new to seatbelts, he was lucky that he managed to buckle himself it. Unbuckling was a new challenge. Roxas tugged on it, hoping that it would release its grip around him. He then tried slumping down when the first tactic didn't work, only managing to get himself further stuck in an awkward position.

"Help," the younger of the two whined. Axel rolled his eyes, pressing down on the red button that was preventing Roxas from getting free. Roxas watched in amazement when the belt just whizzed by his head, resting next to his seat.

The boys left the car, heading towards the hospital. The sun was slowly rising, providing enough light for them to see even though the street lamps around them illuminated the parking lot.

"This looks like my house!" Roxas said in awe, staring up at the hospital. Axel was confused once again. It was clear that Roxas had spent a deal of time in the hospital, especially with all the medical problems that seemed to come with him, but by no means should that mean he spent so much time there that he thought a hospital was his home.

"Hospitals aren't houses," Axel mumbled. Roxas was the one who looked confused now. He didn't speak though.

Axel led the small boy into the building. The smell of food from the café near the entrance greeted them. For a hospital, it had pretty decent food. There was even a little shop that contained a variety of different items. It wasn't very large, but it gave the hospital a more warm feeling than that of a normal hospital. Roxas followed Axel like a dog all the way to Aerith's room. The smaller boy was confused why they stopped, reminding himself that he was here because he was going to have to stay with Axel's mom.

"Ma, he's ready," Axel spoke into the room once he opened the door. Aerith was watching a movie on the TV situated across from across her bed. She smiled once she saw Axel moving into the room, grin only widening when Roxas poked his head out from behind the older man.

"Hello, Roxas," Aerith greeted. Roxas stared blankly at her for a few seconds.

"Hi Axel's mom!" The young boy yelled excitedly. Axel was slightly embarrassed by the boy's outburst. He was unsure what his mom would think of Roxas's eccentric personality.

Aerith laughed, her brown braid falling over her shoulder as she leaned forward. She pulled herself out of the bed, getting up to greet Roxas properly. The blond boy didn't even flinch when she held out a hand to greet him. He stared at it, only for a few moments, and then placed his stress ball in her hand.

"Uh, thank you?"

"Smile!" Roxas chirped. Axel rolled his eyes, leaning forward to hug his mom. He wondered why she hadn't questioned the bandages on his arms yet.

"He'll take some getting used to for the both of us," Axel chimed. Aerith nodded, understanding that this boy was going to be full of endless surprises. Axel pressed a kiss to his mom's cheek before turning and rushing off to his car. He would need to be at work in the next half an hour.

* * *

Not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter. Anyhow, do you like or hate Roxas? If you hate him, don't worry, he won't be like this forever. [Spoiler alert~] Review loves c:


	4. Unlucky Number 7

**Author's Note:** Okay motivation took a day to bite me in the ass here. I have to resume school in about two weeks. What a joy. And I won't be updating for a few days because my Orientation is Wednesday and my friend's birthday is that same day.

On a more upbeat note, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! I loved hearing your thoughts and reading your reviews c:

**Disclaimer:** Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square Enix and Disney. Plot belongs to me.

* * *

Aerith had placed Roxas on her bed. He was attempting to mess around with the switch that controls the bed's movement. A quiet squeak would spill from his lips every time there was movement beneath him. Aerith sat quietly in her chair, watching the boy. His curiosity exceeded that of even a normal child's. He didn't seem to know what things were. It all amounted to suspicion. Maybe Axel hadn't put things together or asked the right questions.

"So, Roxas…" she began, watching as Roxas's head perked up. He looked at her with his cerulean eyes, curiosity peaked. "Where do you come from?"

"My house," he giggled.

"Where's your house?" Aerith asked, prodding deeper. This kid was obviously only going to be able to answer extremely specific questions. Anything too general would either confuse him or result in the answers Aerith wasn't looking for.

"Saïx never told me. But my house looks like this place. Axel said that hospitals like this aren't homes though. My home looked like this," Roxas mumbled, bowing his head.

"Well, maybe your house was a mansion that was structured similarly to this building and you just didn't know it. What are your parents like?" Aerith was worried by the boy's answer. Living in a hospital sounded extremely alarming. Roxas's arms were clear reminders that he had spent a great deal of time in the hospital. Aerith noted that Roxas seemed uncomfortable talking about where he lived, so she decided to stray from that topic.

"Parents?" the blond asked. His head was tilted like it had been many times that day. It indicated that he didn't understand.

"Yes… your mom and dad. Everyone has parents," Aerith said, worried that the boy would say he didn't know what those were again.

"Well, I don't have any parents. So you're wrong," Roxas said, sad that he didn't have parents like everyone else. Meanwhile, Aerith was trying to make sense of everything that Roxas was saying. Thinking your house is a hospital is one thing, but not having parents is another.

"Foster parents? Maybe you can remember yours if you think back really far." She knew that she was crossing, or nearing, the line of how far Roxas was willing to answer. His shoulders were slumping with every word she said, as though he was ashamed for answering the questions the way she was. The truth is, he was ashamed. First, Axel told him that his house wasn't a house. Then Aerith told him that he should have these… parents that everyone else has, but he doesn't.

"I don't have parents! I don't live in a normal house! I can't even remember farther back than a week! Leave me alone Axel's mom!" Roxas finally shouted, causing Aerith to jump. She felt mad at herself for pressing so deep into his personal life. She mentally scolded herself, watching as Roxas buried himself under the blankets of her bed. Then his words began to sink in. Roxas couldn't remember further back than a week. It was confusing at first, but then Aerith began to piece things together. It was very possible that Roxas had severe amnesia. Amnesia can be caused by trauma to the brain, which can be caused by accidents, which would explain the bandages on his arms. He was most likely spending a week in the hospital, a week being as far back as he can remember. That still didn't explain why he wouldn't have parents. Surely they would come to see their son the first moment they had in the hospital. They could've died in the accident, explaining why Roxas was with Saïx. Aerith would've done a victory dance for figuring out everything that was confusing her, but now was definitely not the appropriate time. She would share her thoughts with Axel when he got off of work.

"I'm sorry I asked you too many questions, Roxas," Aerith apologized. Roxas lay with his back turned to her under the blankets. His little blond spikes were peeking out near the pillows, getting tangled whenever his head would move slightly. When Roxas made no move to accept Aerith's apology, she strode over to the side of the bed his face was peering over. She still held the little yellow stress ball in her hands. "Smile," Aerith stated gently, placing the ball in front of Roxas.

Roxas lifted the blanket, slowly pulling it down. His simple thought process caused him to instantly fall for Aerith's words. His signature smile spread quickly across his face. He grabbed the smiling object in his hands, squeezing it gently.

"Would you like some food? We can walk down to the café and get some sweets, you seem to be the type of person to like them," Aerith whispered, careful and aware of Roxas's fragile emotions.

"I don't know what I like," the blond boy said. Aerith nodded. He was most likely fed through a tube on his long stay in the hospital a week or so back. Eating normal food is an experience that the boy most likely won't remember. Of course Aerith was still going on her guess though.

Down in the café, Roxas was stuffing himself full of donuts and candy. Aerith sat back, mesmerized by the boy's bottomless pit of a stomach. She had finished her bagel a half an hour ago, now only sipping coffee. The consequences of feeding Roxas so much sugar would make themselves evident later. The stress ball that the boy never seemed to forget was covered in a sticky chocolate substance. Somewhere along the time span, Roxas had shoved a chocolate donut at the thing, attempting to feed it. A few passing patients hadn't even looked despite the boy's strange behavior. They were probably used to it.

Aerith glanced at the clock, realizing that it was also Axel's mid-day break, when his class was eating lunch. She could call him now and tell him what her conclusion on Roxas was.

"Roxas, I'm going to go call Axel really quick, kay?" Aerith asked the boy. He paused his chewing, nodding after a minute of thought. The boy wasted no time diving back into the sweets laid out before him.

Meanwhile, Aerith was standing at the wall that was near them. It had a phone on it, just like most of the walls in the hospital did. She dialed in Axel's cellphone number, pressing the phone to her ear. Axel was quick to pick up because the ringer was only halfway through the second ring before his muffled 'hello?' sounded.

"You know who it is, sweetie. Don't talk with your mouth full by the way," Aerith scolded, nagging her son about his manners.

A loud swallow could be heard and then a large inhale. "Sorry Ma. So, how's Roxas doing?" Axel asked, knowing he'd have to return and pick up the boy in a little less than four hours.

"He's fine. Just stuffing himself fat. Anyways, I think I figured out why he's like _this_."

"Really? I mean Saïx seemed pretty secretive about it. Wouldn't want my genius mom to get hurt because of lame old Saïx."

"Oh shut up. I'm in a hospital where there is security and a nearby police station. I'm perfectly safe. Besides, you and me both know that Saïx is a good man and wouldn't hurt the people that he cares about. You are his best friend."

"Whatever," Axel scoffed.

"Don't be like that," Aerith quickly told him, continuing with what she was planning to say from the start, "and it's time you listened to what I have to say. What if Roxas has amnesia? It would explain almost everything. He told me today that he doesn't even have parents, not ones that he can remember at least, and that he can only remember a week into his past. Think about it. It would explain the bandages, it would explain why he was staying with Saïx, it would explain why he thinks that the hospital is his home," she gushed urgently. Axel was pondering what she had said.

"Wait, how did you get all this information out of him? He seems pretty… simple minded. Ya know, unable to understand more general questions and statements," Axel prodded.

"I was asking him specific things, ya know, wondering where he came from. He got really upset when I was talking to him about his home and parents, simply because he doesn't have parents that he can remember and doesn't have a normal house. I'm worried about him. He must feel pretty abnormal because of all this. Maybe he even feels ashamed because of it. I would try not to upset him further," she explained. Aerith glanced back at Roxas, noticing that the ball was rolling around on the table as his eyes followed it. Aerith thought nothing of it and turned back to face the wall.

"Saïx said _not_ to upset him. I don't know why for sure. If your hunch is true, maybe upsetting him unlocks bad memories. Just a guess. I don't exactly know how amnesia works because I am a math teacher, not biology. I have to go Ma, lunch break is over. I'll be around to pick him up in a few hours, so keep him happy until then." Axel said his goodbyes after that, suddenly hanging up. Aerith sighed, pressing the phone back to the wall and turning on her heel.

Roxas was staring at something. He was turned around completely in his chair, now on his knees with hands resting on the back of the object. Aerith raised an eyebrow, curious with his behavior.

"Roxas, what are you looking at?"

"There was a person!" Roxas shouted happily, getting up and running towards the hallway leading out of the café. His stress ball rolled near the edge of the table momentarily before stopping just in time for Aerith to snatch it. She hurried after Roxas, having difficulty keeping the blond in her line of sight. He escaped into an elevator, Aerith catching up just in time. Roxas was staring at the buttons on the elevators wall near the door. It went from floor one to floor seven.

"Roxas…?" Aerith asked gently. Roxas began trailing his fingers lightly over the numbers. His usual smile slowly tugged into a frown. Aerith could tell something was wrong, but she didn't know exactly what it could be. Roxas stopped on seven, his face starting to turn red.

"I hate this number!" Roxas cried, jabbing his finger at the button. All the lights flickered when his hand made contact with the button, eventually flickering themselves out after a few seconds. Aerith was shocked at Roxas's outburst. A noise of pain escaped Roxas as he quickly retracted his finger and held it close to his hand. "I wanna squeeze the smiling thing! It's smiles will make me happy again!" the blonde boy shrieked. Aerith refused to let him have the ball. He jabbed his finger into the button extremely hard, probably causing a large bruise. It would only pain Roxas to squeeze his stress ball.

"We're lucky we're in a hospital," Aerith mumbled. She silently pressed the emergency exit button, waiting.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?" Axel asked Roxas, who was somehow all smiles again. His finger had been placed in a splint because he managed to hit his finger hard enough to break the tendon. Axel was sure he would have to call Saïx about the issue, but that could wait.

"I don't remember," the blond pouted, rolling his stress ball beneath his finger. It was a mystery that Roxas could forget nearly breaking his finger.

"When we get home, I'm making us sandwiches for dinner," the red head stated, noting the silence when Roxas didn't respond. He glanced over only to find Roxas fast asleep against the window. Emerald eyes rolled as Axel pulled onto his street. He noticed that leaves were beginning to pile up in his front yard due to the approaching season known as autumn. Roxas hadn't come with much autumn wear, so Axel would have to take the boy shopping for cardigans, cargo pants & jeans, a hat, some gloves, and a pair of boots. "Yo, Roxas, wake up," Axel whispered rather loudly, shaking Roxas's shoulder lightly.

"Hnng?" said blond mumbled, slowly moving so he was sitting up. Roxas rubbed his eyes, forgetting about his splint and nearly shoving it off his finger by accident. Axel reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it away from his face gently. Roxas looked at him with curious blue eyes, smiling and turning quickly to unbuckle himself.

"Sandwiches!" Roxas shouted, fleeing from the car and towards the house. Roxas didn't make it very far, for he slammed into the locked door. He seemed completely unfazed, shouting at the door instead of crying out in pain. Axel was sure that a week with Roxas would ensure broken things all around his home. Roxas was just that accident prone. He hurt himself so much that Axel was beginning to consider duct taping pillows around the boy's frail body.

"I have to unlock the door before you can go through it, Roxas," Axel said as-a-matter-a-factly.

"Oh~" Roxas chirped, watching intently when Axel produced a key from his pocket and shoved it in the hole on the door's knob.

Axel pushed the door open and Roxas ran in. He jumped onto the couch and buried himself under the red comforter placed upon it. Axel raised his eyebrow, moving into the kitchen. The island was the only thing separating the living room and the kitchen, so Axel still had a very clear view of Roxas. Roxas had tilted his head back so it was upside down, staring at Axel.

"Sandwiches please," Roxas pleaded.

"Of course, your highness," Axel mumbled, concentrating on finding the correct ingredients. He had grabbed some blueberry jam, peanut butter, and white bread. It was unclear whether Roxas would like the sandwich. From what Aerith had said, Roxas was a big fan of sugar.

"Sandwiches are done," Axel said after a few minutes of sloppy preparing. Roxas sat up, diving onto the island. Axel screeched, nearly dropping the sandwiches in the process. "Don't scare me like that, kay?" Roxas nodded, making grabby hands for the sandwich. Axel handed it over to him. Roxas instantly took a large bite, moaning in satisfaction at the flavor. Axel was proud of himself. He had done pretty good so far at taking care of Roxas.

* * *

Ohh~ Do you think Aerith's assumption is right? or is she horribly wrong...

ANYWAYS, I cannot describe how much subtle foreshadowing I threw into this chapter. I seriously still cannot thank all the reviewers enough ;^; You guys are all precious babies okay don't stop being precious [sorry, I haven't exactly switched off my Tumblr language yet just kind of expect it because it isn't going away anytime soon.]


	5. Memories Plastered in White

**Author's Note:** There's a little time skip here by only two weeks.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Square Enix and Disney do.

* * *

The end of September slowly slid into October. The air was becoming sharper and stung your nostrils if you inhaled too deeply. Axel was becoming more used to having Roxas in his home. They made it a routine to have Roxas dropped off at the hospital whenever Axel had work and Roxas would spend time with Aerith. There weren't any more incidents such as that of the first day. Roxas was still his hyper and accident prone self though. His splint was to be removed in six weeks, which he'd learn how to be careful not to bend his finger. He would place it on the counter every morning so it would stay straightened out and have Axel replace the splint carefully, assuring Roxas was never harmed. Saïx was notified about the incident, but he stated that as long as Roxas stayed happy, everything would be fine. Happy was exactly what Roxas was. His peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which he never learned to make, stress ball, and company of Axel & Aerith were enough to keep the boy grinning every second of the day. He replaced his bandages at night, like a good boy, and showered in between the changing. Thought Roxas was extremely naïve and innocent, he was able to keep himself sanitary. Roxas also never faltered to take his medicine. Axel was quick to call Saïx whenever the boy ran low, which had only happened once now.

Today was one of Axel's days off. He decided that Roxas and he needed to spend more time together. They did live together after all; it wouldn't hurt to become closer. Axel was pretty sure that Roxas thought everyone who spoke to him were instantly his best friends, but that didn't mean Axel thought the same. He felt somewhat distant from Roxas, still going on the hunch Roxas had amnesia. Aerith was fine with Axel deciding to stay at home with Roxas. She was going to suggest it anyways.

Roxas was jumping from leaf pile to leaf pile as Axel raked them up. He kept a careful eye on Roxas. Raking the leaves in a neighborhood involved shoving them out to the curb so that the street cleaners would come and devour them during the night. It was very possible Roxas could jump into the wrong leaf pile and break something on the concrete.

"Roxas," Axel said sternly as the boy ran towards another leaf pile. It was sitting in front of his neighbor's house, messing it up would probably involve a complaint from said neighbor.

"Huh?" Roxas stopped running halfway towards the pile and looked at Axel curiously.

"Stick to the piles in front of my house. The neighbors would get mad if you made a mess," Axel replied, pausing his raking. Roxas pouted and walked back to the leaf pile he was seated in prior, head hanging low. He had a beanie Axel bought him hanging on his head, blond spikes still poking out from underneath. His hat matched the grayish blue cardigan that was enveloping his body. It was a few sizes too big, only because Roxas refused to try any clothing on when shopping with Axel so that left the red head to guess the boy's size.

"Do you think that I could rake leaves one day?" Roxas asked, peering up at Axel from a curb. The boy had a pout still adorning his face, showing he wanted to help. Axel was a bit taken aback by the question. He was used to Roxas being childish and carefree, not actually useful. _Aside from paying my mom's medical deb… _Axel mentally scolded himself for having such harsh thoughts. Though they were true, he wanted to think of Roxas as a person instead of an income.

"Sure, I suppose, you can have the rake for now. Here," Axel said as he thrust the rake towards Roxas. The blond haired boy smiled eagerly, jumping from the curb and running towards Axel. The rake was ripped from Axel's grip and Roxas began doing what he thought was raking. It looked more like sweeping. The boy only succeeded in ripping the grass and messing the leaves up. "Roxas, not like that," Axel stated calmly, trying to contain the anger that Roxas was creating by ruining his lawn. Axel grabbed the rake gently from Roxas's grasp, demonstrating how to rake the leaves properly.

With a quick nod, Roxas stole the rake back and did as Axel had shown him. There was no more grass being ripped from the lawn, but instead Roxas gently pulled the leaves towards the curb. Axel smiled in pride and approval, watching Roxas with his hands on his hips. The boy had really begun to seem more human as Axel got used to him. It wasn't like the first week where Roxas was a roller coaster of different emotions. The boy was more stable now.

"Am I doing better, Axel?" Roxas asked excitedly. He had raked a good portion of the leaves into a pile at the curb. Axel chuckled, nodding at Roxas. The blond boy bounced around shouting happily.

"Calm down, we have grumpy neighbors!" Axel shushed, holding Roxas's shoulders in order to stop him from making a scene. Axel was easily embarrassed by Roxas's outbursts-they were anything but socially acceptable. Axel found himself beginning to accept what Roxas was like though. The boy was really fun to be around if you ignored some of his more annoying aspects.

"Axel! Look!" Axel hadn't noticed Roxas escaped from his grasp, let alone run off. Roxas had stuffed leaves under the edges of his hat and looked like he had extremely messy brown hair. Axel laughed lightly, making his way to Roxas. The leaves would dirty the boy's golden hair, not to mention there was unknown grime wandering within them. The red head began lightly tugging the leaves out of Roxas's hat, earning another pout of the small boy.

"Why don't we go inside and watch a movie? It's getting late," Axel suggested once he'd ridden Roxas of all the leaves. The small blond nodded, waiting for Axel to finish up putting everything away. It was rare for Roxas to wait, he would usually already be running into the house. Perhaps Roxas was enjoying his time around Axel more.

Once Axel was done, Roxas walked with him back into the house. Roxas pushed off his shoes, which Axel had gotten him on his second day here, and patted lightly across the wooden floor to the couch. Roxas had deemed it his couch some time ago because he did sleep on it. Axel was only "allowed" to sit on it when watching movies with him. That doesn't mean that Axel didn't occasionally break the rules.

"Can we watch, um, something funny?" Roxas asked, peering at Axel. The red head nodded, moving towards the TV to search for a comedy he had. There weren't many aside from some horror films that were of such low quality they left Axel on the floor practically in stitches. Roxas would most likely fear horror, so Axel settled with a childish comedy titled 'Jack and Jill.' He'd only bought it because it seemed funny, but after watching it, Axel could only cringe at its presence.

"I really hope this makes me laugh," Roxas chirped happily, glancing over at Axel as he did so. Axel would have told him it wasn't funny at all, but he wasn't one to ruin the boy's spirits. The cerulean blues eyes held light in them that only screamed happiness. Axel would be a real asshole to snub that out.

"Yeah," Axel mumbled unsurely. He watched carefully as Roxas intently leaned towards the TV screen, eagerly awaiting the movie to begin. Right now were all the stupid commercials that could either be skipped or not skipped. Roxas still found himself fairly entertained by everything that as going on. His small hands were clutching the black leather of the couch in anticipation, his splinted finger not looking to be in real discomfort. It was strange for Axel to watch someone get so excited over a movie. Yet, Axel found himself strangely drawn in by the boy's display of emotions. For the two weeks Roxas has been here, Axel had never been more entertained.

The movie continued on while Axel sat contemplating things in his mind. Roxas was giggling beside him, not caring when Axel was unresponsive. There was a hint of disappointment in Roxas's eyes when he tried pointing out a part he thought was particularly heartwarming, only to have Axel utter, "huh?" once he'd finished his sentence. The disappointment was short for Roxas was back to giggling.

* * *

The pair had lost track of time once Roxas requested another movie. This time it wasn't a comedy, but a thrilling action movie. _Cowboys and Aliens_, as Axel called it. He was so entertained by all the action that the blond shot up and started attempting to mimic the actions of the actors. Axel sat with his arms crossed, paying more attention to Roxas than he was to the screen.

"What on earth are you doing?" Axel chuckled, amused when Roxas started punching his stress ball, effectively flattening it until its foamy insides caused it to become round once again.

"I'm being a cowboy by being tough and punching things," Roxas explained, grinning brightly.

"You need a hat and a pair of boots," Axel pointed out. There was also the fact that most cowboys he's heard about didn't have spikey blond hair and blue cardigans.

"I'm a special cowboy!" Roxas's energy got the best of him, once again, and he dove over the counter. There was a loud crash and a small squeak. Axel was quick to rush across the wooden floor to peer on the tiled one of the kitchen. Roxas was crumpled between two counters, his dark outfit contrasting against the white of the kitchen set.

"Roxas? Are you okay?" Panicked, Axel hurried to where the boy lay. Roxas shook slightly before laughter could be heard. There was a big sigh of relief that spilled from Axel's lips. Small hands gripped the counter top as Roxas pulled himself up. He had no visible injuries, but Axel still had to make sure. "Are you okay? Didn't that hurt?"

"Yeah, it hurt, but I don't care!" Roxas giggled, returning to the living room. Axel could only stay dazed for a moment, wondering why Roxas wasn't expressing pain, but could only conclude that the boy had high pain tolerance. It was difficult to believe considering the blond acted like a five year old and should have the pain tolerance of one. Roxas was, and Axel feared he would always be, a mystery.

"I'm tired now," Roxas announced rather loudly. Axel looked back at him. The boy was perched on the couch in a laid back position. It was hardly eight o' clock, yet Roxas already wanted to sleep. It was understandable seeing as the boy had only been hyper throughout the day.

"Okay then. You should probably change your bandages and take your medicine before you go to sleep. We have to keep you healthy and happy, you know," Axel said while taking strides into the living room. He kneeled next to the DVD player and pressed the glowing red eject button. The DVD tray opens and Axel slips the DVD into its case. There's silence as Axel waits for Roxas to say something. He can hear the boy breathing, but not as if he was sleeping, just as if he was awake and trying to be quiet. "Well…?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll go change them and take my pills now," Roxas says around a yawn. He placed his pale hand over his mouth and slowly stands. Shakily, Roxas made his way to the bathroom which was connected to Axel's room. It was rare that Roxas would sneak into the bathroom. He usually slept soundly through the night.

Axel watched from the floor as Roxas trudged into his bedroom and surely into the bathroom. The redhead took a seat on the couch, making sure it was nice and comfy for Roxas's return.

* * *

Meanwhile, Roxas was unwrapping his bandages in the bathroom. The mirror that reached from the counter top to the lights that hung just below the ceiling on the wall was reflecting his appearance. Roxas usually didn't have the mind to care what he looked like, nor was it any different tonight. The boy hardly had a conscious. He did whatever he did through instinct instead of reasoning. He had very little of that, and what reasoning he did have was very simple. This color was ugly, that sound was annoying, sweets taste better than spicy food. It was hard for Roxas to think any differently than he did now.

The white material of the bandage was discarded in the bin next to the toilet. The blond boy took a second to glance at his arms. He decided he didn't like them. What lay beneath the bandages was ugly. There was no beauty in his arms. It was his drive to wrap them back up instead of doing something about it. Not being able to see them really brought his spirits up. His arms made him sad. They made him feel things that he didn't like. So he left them concealed, just as Saïx had said to do.

_"Keep your arms covered as long as possible, Roxas, and never let anyone see or touch them," Saïx said sternly, strange men wrapping Roxas's arms in white paper. There was an uneasy feeling in Roxas's stomach, it clawed at him. He simply complied with what Saïx was saying because he really had no room to argue. No memories as to why his arms must be covered._

_The walls around him were white. Roxas hated that color, he decided, because it was too bright and hurt his eyes. There were lights that flickered on the stand that was next to him. He didn't like that either. It made irritating beeping noises that made him want to kick it down - anything to get the annoying noise to stop, really. _

_Saïx stepped away from Roxas once the boy's arms were covered from shoulder to wrist. He smiled in satisfaction, leaving Roxas to tilt his head in confusion. He did not understand much at the moment. He knew his name was Roxas, he knew how to speak English, he knew that he didn't like bright colors or annoying beeping noises, but he did not know why his arms must be covered._

_"Why are you putting this on my arms? It's itchy," Roxas whined. One of the men standing beside Saïx rolled his dull green eyes._

_"Would you tell him to stop complaining? How much longer is he going to be like this anyways? I don't like him like this, the old one was much easier to handle," the green eyed and blond haired man hissed to Saïx. Roxas was confused. It sounded like these people knew why his arms had to be wrapped. He wanted to ask them, though he was unaware they were discussing matters that were far more important to him than simple arm wrappings._

_"Hush, as long as he doesn't slip up then Roxas will stay the way he is. You can't go around complaining about it. You saw what happened yesterday. We lost one! That could happen again if we don't keep them __**all **__under control," Saïx retorted to the blond haired man. Said man rolled his eyes and waved his hand before turning on his heel and making an exit._

A memory from about three weeks ago surfaced in Roxas's mind. He was unscrewing the top to his medication as he thought back on the moment. Roxas wished he could remember more, but there wasn't much to remember at the moment. He was told he was seventeen. It was confusing because he did not remember more than three weeks back. Two of those weeks were spent with Axel. Surely Roxas should remember seventeen years back into his past if he was seventeen. Maybe Saïx lied to him.

"Maybe I'm only three weeks old," Roxas mumbled to himself once he'd gripped the pill in his hand. The pills he was taking tasted bitter and unsatisfying. They easily annoyed Roxas, but all at the same time calmed him. The pills made him feel numb in his heart and head - they let him be happy for a little while longer each time. Roxas did wonder what would happen if he didn't take one of his pills one day, but was also afraid. His hand naturally drove the pill into his mouth and the glass of water he held in the other hand was instantly making its way to his lips. Roxas swallowed like he'd been told to do. The pill uncomfortably seeped down into his stomach, leaving Roxas to wait for its effects to kick in.

Roxas made his way back to the living room. Axel was seated on the couch.

"It's bed time now." Roxas made himself known. Axel jumped slightly, pushing himself up using the armrest and nodding at Roxas. Roxas hadn't meant to scare him, only to let him know that it was time for them to sleep. Axel slipped into his bedroom and Roxas slipped onto the couch. Roxas dreamed that night like he never had before.

* * *

Oh hey look a glimpse into Roxas's mysterious past! But I do believe It only succeeded in making things more confusing..

Eh, sorry for not updating in the past week. I saw many boy's butts in the past few days. Grown boys. And if you like boy's butts then let me tell you, it was actually not pleasant. We all then spoke of how we would get drunk together one day. Oh the memories. I spent quite a few days at my friend's house and was anticipating seeing my cousin this weekend, but she canceled plans. Oh well, here is an update. Hope you liked it c:

On a more important note: THANK YOU TO ALL WHO REVIEWED YOU ARE STILL ALL AMAZING I MEAN SERIOUSLY YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY JUST UGRHGASD;ASSSL


	6. McDonald's for the Munchies

Author's Note: Have you ever heard of Hughes Net? Probably not. It's for people who live in the middle of nowhere. It's actually been sued for how terrible the service/internet is. And I have it. So excuse me if this took forever to get out, at least you know the terrible beast Hughes Net exists. Okay, Diabolus Kara, you had a question so I'll answer it. Axel actually does eventually look, I just didn't want to put it in the story too early because it would definitely spoil some things xD There isn't exactly a set medication for Roxas's… medical issues, so there may or may not be a specific medication named. I hate spoiling major points of the story too early on… So I hope that answers your question.

I hate writing dream scenes that involve a character interacting with something, but it had to be done.

Disclaimer: Yes, the creator of Kingdom Hearts is writing a fan fiction about a non-canon pairing and posting it on the internet.

* * *

Oh, and real quick, if you haven't noticed, the story kind of goes a long with what happened at the beginning of 358/2 Days. Axel is ordered to nanny Roxas, who doesn't do much, is curious, and has no memories. And then we have Saïx, but his connection is later in the story. This story quickly begins walking its own path, and already has, so don't worry about any plot stealing!

_ "Hey! Three! Back here!" There was a whisper floating through the hallway. It in itself looked like a pathway to heaven, considering how bright and white it was. Roxas was too accustomed to this hallway. It was the Third hallway: his hallway. The others were allowed to enter as long as he hadn't previously stated one of them couldn't. _

_Roxas turned around to face the direction of the voice that called out in the brightness. It was hard to make anything out with all the glares bouncing off the walls. The smell of the hall was enough to make anyone's head spin. It smelled of an overheated new car, oddly. "I can't see you," Roxas said, blue eyes darting around. There was a thin blur at the end of the hallway. Roxas could hardly recognize the person – or thing, that was attempting to address him. "My name is Roxas! Who are you?" the blond asked timidly. It was rare that Roxas was shy. He was usually blunt and let you know what he was going to say right as it entered his mind._

_"Come on over, I have something to show you~" the voice sang. Roxas smiled, maybe this voice would help him through this place? He really only recognized this hallway, the other ones were a mystery._

_"Okay!" Roxas chirped, running quickly to the blurry figure. It never seemed to get closer though, only stay faded in the distance. Roxas faltered. Was the figure walking away from him? Or was he drifting away from it? "Can you walk closer, please?" the blond asked, his pace now a slow walk. The figure lifted a somehow clear hand, shaking it in Roxas's face._

_"Roxas, you should really stop being such a dumb ass and wake up," it hissed. Roxas furrowed his brows. He'd never heard such harsh language. It upset him to hear words like that._

_"That wasn't nice."_

_"Well neither are you. You're just a blunt little brat that has no brains of his own. You're not that smart either, kind of stupid actually."_

_"Stop it!"_

_"How do you like not being normal? How do you like having an abnormal house and no parents? Everyone thinks you're too different. They think you're weird." The air ghosted over Roxas's cheek, trailing lightly over his jaw line. The blur stayed where it was though, unmoving. Steady blue eyes were watching, unwavering, when the blur moved. "Mmm, Roxas, trigger me sometime, okay?" the voice purred, the blur fading slightly. _

_Roxas knew that he didn't like this blur. It was an object for his curiosity at first, but now he wanted it to stay away. "I don't like you," the blond snapped. The blur simply giggled, floating a bit more towards the young boy. The eerie presence of the thing made goose bumps rise on Roxas's arms._

_"I know you don't. You hate me, you always have, but I am a part of you. I exist in you and you exist for me. Go on, have your fun, but it's only a matter of time before you remember, and once you do, you will go right back to the condition you were before," the figure hissed._

_"You're just a dream! And dreams aren't real, you know. When I wake up I'll forget all about you. Why are you even here? I thought that dreams had people you knew in them," Roxas whined, annoyed by the taunting blur._

_"Correct, for someone with less than half a brain. I suppose that dreams are filled with people that you've met, seen, saw out of the corner of your eye, but you know me Roxas. You have met me. I was say, a friend, hope that jogs something." A playful tone was evident in the thing's voice. Roxas hated it, loathed it. _

_"I want to wake up now!" the blond wailed once he'd decided he'd had enough with this dream. Roxas was somewhat of a lucid dreamer, he was aware with what was reality and what was not, so it was all too natural for him to be able to pull himself into consciousness. _

_"Had a nice chat, see you soon~"_

* * *

Roxas slowly peeled his eyes open. They were crusted from sleeping, so he rubbed them gently. The splint scratched at his skin, but not in a painful way. The blond only remember so much of his dream. He remembers the blur, the ghostly fingers, and bits of their conversation. It was all so confusing to him. He would ask Axel about it later when they were making breakfast or something. Today was Axel's last day off for the week, Roxas wanted to make it fun, just as every other day.

The blond let his legs swing over the edge of the couch before touching the cold wood beneath it. He cringed when his feet were fully on the floor. Axel needed to get a rug, perhaps Roxas would bring up the idea. Waking up to cold floors every morning was not something that Roxas wanted to get used to. He looked at the clock, it was digital – thank god, and concluded it was about five in the morning. Axel usually got up around this time on weekdays. Roxas knew that because he would also wake up hearing Axel up and about, but would stay quiet and pretend to sleep until Axel "woke him up." On weekends and days off Axel would sleep in until however late he wanted, but due to Roxas, he set his alarm for ten on the weekends. Roxas was usually always awake by that time.

Struck with boredom, Roxas let himself slide onto the floor. He sat still for quite a few minutes, reaching out to roll his ball around, and pondered what he wanted to do. He was awake now, but he didn't want to wait several hours to do anything with Axel. He could make Axel breakfast, though he liked cooking with Axel. Roxas remembered how a few days prior he had woken up late and Axel had pancakes and bacon ready for him. That's it! The blond hopped up excitedly. He was going to make Axel some pancakes and bacon.

Tip toeing into the kitchen, Roxas switched on the light. Axel's door was closed; he surely wouldn't be able to see the light. The kitchen was also a fair distance from the bedroom, which helped. Roxas walked to the fridge and pulled open the freezer, he remembered Axel keeping the bacon there.

"Uhh…" the blond whispered quietly. The freezer was caked with ice on the sides, all of its contents ranging from frozen dinners to ice cream. The bacon was resting comfortably on top of a pint of mint ice cream. Roxas stood on his tip toes and grabbed the bacon, plopping back down. It was obviously not cooked, which confused Roxas. He didn't know how to cook, at all. The furthest he's ever gotten was Axel directing him to put things in the microwave and how long. Axel said it was a faster way of heating things than on the stove - he always used it.

"I can microwave these!" Roxas gasped excitedly. He ripped one of the cupboards open, pulling out a plate as silently as he could muster. The bacon lay on the counter in its plastic wrapping, awaiting Roxas to do something. He ripped the plastic off without much difficulty. Roxas laid the bacon out on the plate, stacking a few pieces on top of each other to fit all of it on. During the ordeal, Roxas's fingers became a bit dirty from the meat. He didn't show any concern as he picked up the plate and shoved it into the microwave. There were a lot of buttons on the microwave and most of them had numbers. Roxas pressed the button labeled with '9' and then moved to press start. The microwave hummed to life, which left Roxas time to make pancakes.

The pancake mix was in the cupboard above the sink. Roxas had to pull himself onto the counter top in order to open the cupboard and pull out the mix. This time it was obvious which box was the pancake box, it had a giant picture of a pancake on it, so he had spent no time wasted looking for the mix. Roxas grabbed it and slowly closed the cupboard door. He didn't want to slam it because that would result in a very awake Axel and that would ruin the surprise of breakfast. On the way down from the counter, Roxas nearly slipped, only catching himself on the handle of one of the drawers.

The stress ball Roxas was so fond of had been set on a jar in a far corner on the counter top. Its smile never washed away as Roxas poured the entire thing of pancake mix into a giant bull he had pulled out of yet another cupboard. There were cupboards for everything!

Roxas remembered Axel pouring milk into the pancake mix from a fancy cup with numbers and lines on it. The blond simply shrugged and grabbed the milk out of the fridge. He twisted the cap off and tilted the heavy jug into the bowl. Unknown to Roxas, you are not supposed to tip the jug upside down and wait for the milk to drown the batter. Once Roxas had done that (error) task, he smiled in pride. The jug of milk went from mostly full to nearly empty. A good amount of batter and milk had sloshed out of the bowl and onto Roxas's shirt. He didn't mind the cold feeling on his abdomen. There was a giant spoon sticking out of the top of an open jar next to the jar with the stress ball atop of it. Roxas reached for the spoon and drove it into the pancake mix.

"Axel will be happy," Roxas mumbled to himself, grin set on his face. He stirred the mix happily, not caring that the batter was too thin and milky. The step that came after mixing it together was still a mystery to Roxas. He placed a batter covered finger on his chin and thought for a minute, turning to look the microwave. The numbers will still counting down, they were almost at 0:00. Roxas watched patiently until the microwaved went off, beeping to signal that whatever inside was done. Roxas's grin widens as he pulled the microwave door open, grabbing the plate. His bacon looked nothing like Axel's bacon, but he figured that every person made it differently and he was no exception. Roxas was tempted to eat the meat, but he wanted Axel to have the first bite, so he resisted temptation.

The blond hurried to the pancake batter. He poured portions of it out on a plate and shoved them in the microwave. Roxas pressed the button labeled '5' this time and waited for each pancake to be done. They all bubbled inside the microwave but never really got that golden and soft look. Roxas used the same reasoning that he used for the bacon – everyone made it differently! In under an hour, Roxas had several plates with pancake batter lined up along the island top. "_Axel will be __**so**__ happy!_" Roxas thought to himself. He all but skipped back to the couch and plopped himself down, watching Axel's bedroom door intently.

* * *

For several hours Roxas had to keep himself entertained by drawing doodles in the notebook that was on the edge of the coffee table. His doodles were no master pieces, maybe if he were two they would be, but Roxas was pretty proud of them. Axel's bedroom door creaking open caused Roxas to smile excitedly. In his head, he imagined Axel and himself eating breakfast happily together.

A messy haired Axel stepped out from behind the wooden door, his clothes wrinkled and his eyes half lidded. Emerald eyes trailed to where Roxas was seated, red eyebrows raising. "What happened to your clothes? What's on your face?" Axel questioned, giving Roxas a quick check over. Roxas had to contain his excited giggles, wanting to keep the breakfast a surprise.

"I made you something!" The blond chirped, running into the kitchen before Axel could respond. He shrugged at the blond's mood and followed Roxas into the kitchen. Axel noticed the many plates lined along the island top, all containing a goopy substance of some kind. Then he noticed the plate of badly made bacon next to the goopy plates. Realization hit Axel, instantly causing him to feel trapped. "_Please tell me he didn't_," the red head groaned in his mind. Roxas's food was most likely not edible, meaning Axel would have to find a way to eat it without upsetting Roxas. There was no dog to feed the food under the counter discreetly, only making the situation that much tougher.

Axel hated doing it, but he was going to use Roxas's obliviousness to his advantage. The boy would believe almost every word he said, so maybe a clever excuse would get him out of guaranteed food poisoning. He would also have to get Roxas out of the meal as well, neither of them should be getting sick.

"It's too bad you made us breakfast, I was hoping to take you out to eat at," Axel thought for a moment on which restaurant would sound most appealing to Roxas, "McDonald's. The one with the playground," the red head finished. He watched Roxas's reaction carefully to see if he'd made an appealing offer to the blond. Roxas seemed to instantly begin shaking with excitement.

Roxas bounced where he stood, clapping his hands together. "Really?! I even get to play on it?" he prodded. Axel nodded with a smirk on his face. His plan was going smoothly, Roxas would be happy and nobody would be getting sick. Much to his surprise, Roxas was already dumping his made up breakfast in the sink. Axel felt a bit bad, he realized the blond did put a lot of time and thought into making breakfast for them. It was a dick move to use Roxas's childlike ignorance and obliviousness to obtain something, but Axel decided he would have to live with his choices.

Axel told Roxas to get ready while he retreated to his bedroom to do the same. His outfit of choice was a pair of blue jeans, too tight to be professional, and a white t-shirt, also too tight to be professional. While Axel's wardrobe did consist mainly of professional and school appropriate clothing, the occasional 'knock 'em dead' outfit wasn't too much to fit in. Hell, Axel even had an old pair of combat boots sitting in the far corner of his closet. He couldn't let them go once the time had come. He figured (hoped) that they would come in handy sometime in the future. The sad thing about them was that they were worn in days best forgotten, to Axel at least.

The red head went into the bathroom, brushing his teeth thoroughly and flossing. He was rather proud of his pearly whites. On a teacher's salary and insurance plan, he managed to get excellent dental care. A thought suddenly stumbled through Axel's head. Was Roxas insured by Saïx? Or was Axel going to have to pay for this kid out of his pocket whenever something came up…? Definitely a question to ask the man later.

"Roxas? Are you ready yet?" Axel asked as he called out his bedroom door. The blond came rushing through his bedroom door faster than Axel could track him, the bathroom door slamming in an instant. "…Roxas?"

"I had to pee really bad!" A high pitched squeal sounded from the bathroom. Chuckling to himself, Axel sat on the edge of his bed and pulled on a pair of casual shoes. They were okay for an outing to… McDonald's, maybe even too fancy. When Axel thought of McDonalds, especially the ones with playgrounds, he imagined overweight lower class families with several children. There was also a bit of verbal and diet abuse mixed in there. How Roxas was excited for something like this was no surprise to Axel.

"All done!" Roxas announced loudly as he exited the bathroom. His chosen outfit of the day consisted of some tan cargo pants and a loose fitting gray hoodie. He wore his usual pair of shoes and the character enhancing bandages. The stress ball that Roxas usually tugged along had remained forgotten on the counter, much to Axel's surprise. Roxas seemed very attached to it for the past few weeks. It was most likely like a new toy: play with it for a while and then leave it in the dirt once something new comes along or it becomes boring.

"So, when have you been to McDonald's before?" Axel asked as they headed out the door and towards his car. Roxas looked up at Axel, happiness radiating from his cerulean eyes.

"Well, I was on my way here from the really faraway place I used to live at and then Saïx got annoyed when I kept saying I was hungry so he pulled into McDonald's! It was one with a playground outside and there were clowns painted on the windows. I got to play in the playground the whole time we were there, after I ate of course! I think I got a toy, but then I lost it in the car. I have wanted to back since then, but never really knew how to ask you," Roxas explained, looking away from Axel so he could move around to the other side of the car. Axel wasn't that surprised by his story. He didn't remember much of his past, Axel certainly hadn't taken him to McDonald's any time, so it had to have been when the blond was still with Saïx.

They sat silently in the car as Axel drove. McDonald's wasn't very close to Axel's house. It was quite a way. Their comfortable silence was broken when Axel's phone started to ring. It was his default ringtone, meaning whoever was calling wasn't someone he normally talked to. He had set ringtone's for any close friends and family members. He glanced at the screen, quirking an eyebrow at the name.

_Aunt Tei_

Aunt Tei was quite the woman. She was_ the_ cool aunt, but for all the wrong reasons. You see, Aunt Tei had given birth at the ripe and young age of sixteen. The not-so-happy father had left her in the hospital and kind of vanished from her life after that. She carried the red haired gene that Axel's mother had skipped out on and effectively given to Axel. Aunt Tei flaunted her red hair proudly, much to Axel's delight. Anyways, the result of her pregnancy was a young and… _flamboyant _(quite the understatement) boy named Lea. He was Axel's younger cousin, clearly looking up to the red head. Speaking of red heads, they both shared similar hair styles. Lea's was a bit brighter and shorter.

Moving onto the reasons why Aunt Tei was the cool aunt. She could be described many ways: illegal, acting too young for her age, childish, stupid. People were sure to put her not so nicely. She was the type of person where if she knew you were considering doing drugs and drinking, she would give you the, "if it comes down to drinking, please just do weed instead. Both make you feel good but one is less harmful." It happened to Lea when a little birdy passed it on to his mom about the whole teenager partying and drinking thing. She instantly gave him that little speech. Axel can tell you that Lea isn't a drinker, but he cannot guarantee that Lea doesn't do drugs.

"Hello?" Axel questioned once he'd pressed the phone to his ear. There was some shuffling on the other end and a crash. Axel presumed that Aunt Tei was up to some of her usual antics.

"Oh! Axel, I'm sorry for calling you on such short notice. I mean, we haven't spoken since the last time Aerith was home, but I really need your help! Lea has gotten into some, uh, trouble, and I really need to help him because it's kind of my fault! Can you please come and watch over him while I clean up the "mess" a little?" Aunt Tei rushed out hurriedly. Axel was already assuming that whatever mess she'd gotten her son into involved some illegal activity.

"Sure, but you owe me one. By the way, you guys want anything from McDonald's?" Axel asked her once he'd rolled the idea around in his head. Watching Lea wouldn't be so horrible. The kid was pretty fun to hang around. Axel's only concern was Roxas. He wouldn't get to play on the playground like he was promised and then there was the fact that Roxas would most likely have to spend time around Axel's_ definitely_ corrupted cousin.

"Why yes. I ran out of food about a day or two ago. Let me ask Lea what he wants," Tei replied. On the other end she pressed her hand to the receiver, getting up from her crouching position and turning to her son. He was sprawled out against the couch, fiddling with something in his hands. The look on his face said that he could care less about what was going on. "Lea, what do you want from McDonald's? Your cousin is coming over for a while," Tei said, placing a hand on her hip.

"A double cheese burger and some fries. Make sure that there's a chocolate shake in there!" Lea ordered, sitting up from the couch. Tei nodded and turned her attention back to the phone.

"The brat wants some fries and a double cheese burger. He says that he wants a shake with it, but honestly, I could care less if you forgot it. As for me, I think I'll have a Big Mac with a Caramel Mocha or something," Axel's aunt muttered.

"Hey! I want that shake so don't be doing that stupid hint thing on not to get it!" Axel heard Lea shout.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Oh no, Tei was certainly losing her temper now. This type of bickering was common with them, it didn't faze Axel in the least. Sure, when he'd first heard it, he'd considered calling Child Services, but after seeing the way Lea treated Tei, it was a surprise that she herself hadn't turned herself in. Weird relationship, Axel guessed.

"By the way, I'm bringing along someone!" Axel shouted once he'd realized that Tei was going to hang up. There was a click on the other end before she even replied. With an aggravated sigh, Axel shoved his phone back into his pocket. Roxas seemed to be worried-he was giving Axel a look of concern.

"What happened?" the younger of the two asked. Axel side glanced at Roxas, unsure what to tell the blond. Roxas was fiddling with his fingers, occasionally picking at one of his finger nails. Though the blond never seemed it, Roxas actually cared what people around him were feeling. If he upset Axel, he was quick to fix it.

"Nothing. We don't have time to play on the playground at McDonald's. I have to stop by my aunt's house and watch my cousin. I think he's around your age, maybe a little younger. He doesn't look younger than you though," Axel replied, eyes on the road now. Axel was expecting an outburst from Roxas about not getting to play on the playground, but instead he was met with a quiet blond. This was new. Roxas wasn't even looking at him.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked with concern. It was kind of scary to see the blond so quiet. Perhaps he'd become upset. That was a terrifying thought.

"I just don't really like people who are like me," Roxas grumbled. Like… him? Did Roxas mean the age similarity?

"We don't know for sure if he's _like_ you. Just around the same age. Everyone has their own personalities, you know. He could be your complete opposite." Axel was trying to lighten Roxas's mood. He couldn't have the blond getting upset, it'd be very bad. That was one of the_ only_ things that Saïx had ordered Axel not to do, aside from peek beneath the boy's bandages.

Roxas nodded in understanding, his mood didn't seem to lighten. He just understood. Roxas couldn't quite rap his mind around what it meant to meet someone his age who wasn't like him. He remembered vaguely in his earliest memories meeting a few people who were his age. One of them was very mean to him, but was quickly taken away from him. He only had a few seconds to see them because they were all immediately separated into different rooms. He had decided he didn't like them.

Axel poked Roxas lightly in the shoulder when he'd pulled into McDonald's. Much to Roxas's disappointment, they took the drive through. A part of him hoped that Axel was joking when he'd said that they wouldn't be able to go in and play on the playground that day. It was evident that Axel was not joking. Roxas slouched in his seat and pouted, lower lip jutting out.

"Hello and welcome to McDonald's. What would you like to order?" A voice on the other end of the intercom sounded.

"I want a double cheese burger, fries, Big Mac, Bacon and Egg sandwich - " Axel stopped to glance at Roxas.

"Chicken Nugget Happy Meal. With toy and a Sprite," Roxas grumbled and crossed his arms, slouching in his seat.

" – Chicken Nugget Happy Meal with the boy's toy, a Sprite, Caramel Mocha, Chocolate Shake, and Chocolate Mocha." Axel inhaled deeply once completing the order. His hands were gripping the steering wheel and a loud honk behind him caused him to nearly jump out of his seat. Roxas shrieked and looked behind them. A mid-aged man who was most likely suffering from diabetes was flipping them off from behind his wheel.

Axel rolled his eyes, turning in his seat to proceed through the drive through. Roxas hadn't seemed to notice the man behind them, he was actually happily humming to himself. It was a tune that Axel didn't recognize at all. Probably something Roxas thought was catchy. Roxas couldn't be any less normal, yet Axel felt that it was okay that way. A normal Roxas would be boring.

"Oh! I wonder what toy is in my Happy Meal! It would make me _really_ happy if it was a smiling toy!" Axel thought Roxas would shoot out of his seat in excitement. He was acting_ that_ happy. The seat belt was straining to contain Roxas as he tried bouncing in his seat.

"Calm down! I can't tell you what they're selling today, but usually their toys are fun (_cheap_) for uh…" _Kids._ "People of your age group." Axel had to be careful with his wording. Calling Roxas a child surely would strike a nerve deep within the boy. Roxas would throw a_ child's_ tantrum if he was called a child.

The two waited patiently in line for about five minutes. Roxas actually sat in his seat without assaulting something or someone in the process of his excitement. The woman on the other side of the Drive Thru window shoved their meals out and into Axel's car. He nearly spilled the drinks on himself, saved only when Roxas tore all the bags from his grasp in order to peer inside. With a glare sent in the direction of the window, Axel proceeded to the second one. Meanwhile, Roxas was shoving food aside so he could dig around for the toy.

"Roxas, it's in this one," Axel muttered once he'd glanced at the confused boy, handing him the little red box with an "M" shape on top. Roxas gasped and then tugged the box to himself, opening it and diving his hands in. He pulled out a small, plastic wrapped toy in an instant, squealing in delight. "What is it?" Axel asked as he'd begun making his way to his aunt's home.

"I dunno. It looks like a robot thing," Roxas mumbled, distracted in the task of ripping the plastic away from his new toy. Axel stole a glance at him, chuckling. Roxas had his teeth ripping at the edges of the surely foul tasting plastic. The red head could remember the day's he spent ripping into those things as a child. The air inside the plastic was terrible smelling enough to burn someone's eyelashes off.

"Here –" Axel stopped himself short once Roxas had successfully pulled the toy from its confinement in the plastic. The toy appeared to be a Transformer, complete with instructions and everything. Roxas had grasped the small, folded paper in his hands and began to flatten it out. A look of confusion crossed his face when he began to decipher the toy's many steps to transformation. "How about you get my cousin to put it together once we get to his house," Axel suggested, eyes steadily on the road.

"Okay," Roxas agreed without much protest. He figured that Axel's cousin would be smart enough to do it for him, then he could finally get some time to have fun. He was bored sitting in Axel's car.

* * *

The two had arrived at Aunt Tei's house about a half an hour after she called. Axel wearily stepped out of the car, already hearing sounds of distress coming from inside. Roxas unbuckled himself, finally, and pinched the edge of the plastic he held between his teeth. He crawled out of Axel's door instead of using the passenger's side, most likely in fear of hitting Aunt Tei's rusty, old truck. She hadn't been the most fortunate when it came to money.

"Ew," the small blond commented as he poked at the rusting truck. The neighborhood around them should have been enough for Roxas to vomit. It smelled of sewage, several homes had bars on the windows, over weight smokers were sitting out in lawn chairs sweating their asses off even though it was Autumn, and nearly even home had something breaking off of it. The colorful leaves that fell from the trees were the only decent thing about the neighborhood, other than that, Axel saw little hope for this to become a friendly environment.

"Go and grab the food Roxas," Axel ushered the boy calmly. Roxas nodded and placed his toy in his pocket. The blond scurried to Axel's car and opened the door, reaching in and grabbing everything they had gotten at McDonald's, before slamming the door shut and hurrying behind Axel. Roxas seemed uncharacteristically shy today. His usual grin was a nervous frown. The leaps he usually took when he walked had turned into timid baby steps. The loud and obnoxious outbursts he made had all but vanished. Axel was a bit worried, but decided that Roxas was just nervous about meeting someone his own age, as he had stated in the car.

Axel stepped onto Aunt Tei's doorstep, glancing at Roxas once more before raising his fist and knocking on the door. There was some obvious shuffling from inside. A female's voice – rather on the deep side – sounded from the other side of the door. Blue eyes watched as a woman peeled back the curtain blocking her door's window from the inside. She had deep red hair, dark enough that some of the more shadowed parts looked black, and blue eyes that just didn't meet the life in Roxas's. Her hair was long and extended to her butt, choppily thinning out. She had bangs that cut straight across her forehead, covering her eyebrows. She wore a stained, gray tank top with a pair of boxers. She looked somewhat a mess.

"Axel!" The woman gushed when she pushed the door open. Axel smiled warmly at her, greeting her nervously. This was his Aunt Tei. She didn't look a day over twenty five, though she was in her thirties. Roxas didn't seem to fear her at all, so Axel was pretty content with how everything was going so far. He just feared having Roxas in her god awful house. The smells coming from inside were that of cigarettes and certain illegal drugs. "I'm so glad you're here! Can you please watch Lea for just a half an hour? I really have to get going or else he's going to be in some serious trouble!" Aunt Tei rushed out, retreating back into her home.

Roxas was glancing around the neighborhood. Some of the neighbors, who were either sitting in lawn chairs or weeding their lawn, had turned in the direction of Tei's home. She had made quite the two second scene once she'd opened her door. The small blond silently picked at the edges of the food bags, trying not to feel shy under the gazes. _What is this?_ Roxas thought to himself. He never felt shy or nervous… only after that dream had he began feeling it.

"Allow us in then," Axel grumbled under his breath and stepped inside. Aunt Tei was fiddling around near her dining table, trying to get a pair of jeans on. Parallel of their dining room, Lea was sprawled out on the cheap looking sofa. He was _clearly_ smoking something. Axel raised an eyebrow at his aunt's parenting skills.

"Lea! Axel is here! Show some respect – oh, and he brought a friend. A friend with food, so treat them politely, okay?" Aunt Tei asked once she'd finished getting ready for wherever she was going. Lea waved his hand and threw a bored looked over the edge of the couch, staring at the two new people in his home. He studied them for a few seconds, flopping down onto the couch once again after he'd finished. Axel had always known the boy was rude, but he didn't remember Lea being this much of an ass. "Bye!" Tei interrupted Axel's thought process as she rushed out the door. She was holding what looked to be a large sum of cash.

"What do I do with the food?" Roxas asked Axel quietly. He wasn't sure what to do with it because Aunt Tei had forgotten her's.

"Just put it in the fridge, over in that room, and if you want, you can eat here. Better yet, leave our food out here and just put Aunt Tei's in the fridge," Axel told him, pointing to the archway connected to the dining room before taking the food that was theirs from Roxas's grasp and setting them on the table. Roxas did as Axel said and disappeared into the kitchen with Aunt Tei's meal. Axel took it upon himself to go to where Lea was lazing.

"Roxas has enough medical problems as it is, we don't need him having more," Axel snapped sharply and snatched the object (a joint?) from his cousin's mouth. Lea made a whining noise, letting out a proceeding string of curse words.

"What the fuck? I don't even know who Rox-ass is? Is he that kid you brought here?" Lea groaned and ran a hand through the hair he held in similar to Axel's. Axel on the other hand turned and threw his cousin's joint into the garbage bin in the corner. Roxas strode from the kitchen and straight to Axel's side after that moment.

"I heard some yelling, so I decided to wait," the young blond announced. Axel smiled warmly at Roxas, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You sit on the couch with Lea and eat, okay? I'll just sit at the coffee table." Axel motioned to the short coffee table sitting in front of the couch, dropping his hand from Roxas's shoulder. Lea had groaned and moved into a sitting position so that Roxas would have room on the couch.

Roxas timidly sat down next to Axel's red haired cousin. The boy looked like a smaller version of Axel, just without tattoos. The way he was sitting and the expression on his face told anyone that he was a douche. Too bad Roxas didn't know what that was. He just didn't like other teenagers, so he held back from saying much. There was a question pushing at Roxas, though.

"Do you come from where I come from?" Roxas asked, leaning forward and waiting for an answer. Axel swung back around the couch and placed a bag of food in front of Roxas, though the kid didn't budge. Axel sat down at the coffee table cross legged and began eating his food, watching the exchange between Roxas and Lea with curiosity.

"A woman's vagina? Yeah," Lea laughed, rather coldly, and proceeded to rip his bag open.

"I don't come from there, I don't even know what a vagina is," Roxas mumbled, staring down at the bag of food in front of him. He slowly began eating, not looking up.

"Are you fucking kidding me? How retarded are you?! Are you an alien or some stupid baby crap like that? I don't know how old you are, but grow up man. This isn't pretend time anymore," Lea said with his mouth full.

"I'm seventeen! Axel said I'm older than you, and I'm not pretending, I'm being serious," Roxas tried to argue. Lea choked on his food, unbelieving that this_ child_ was older than him. Axel sat in silence, stunned at how serious this confrontation had become all of the sudden.

Nobody really said anything after that. Lea was rolling things around in his mind, Axel was feeling an awkward tension in the air, and Roxas was nervous. They all finished eating after about five minutes. Now it was just a long wait—see how long it takes Aunt Tei to get home.

Axel was the first to break their long silence. He had turned on the TV to try to, after that didn't really work, he spoke up. "So, what kind of stupid business did you get yourself into?" Axel directed an icy emerald gaze in Lea's direction. Equally, but not quite as bright, cold eyes turned to meet Axel's gaze.

"I don't see how that's much of your concern, I just owe someone a little money, is all," Lea said firmly and waved a dismissive hand in Axel's direction.

"That's really great character building when you owe someone drug money and have your mom go out and clean up shit for you," Axel retorted sarcastically. There had been some obvious thick tension between him and Lea since he pulled the joint from his cousin's lips. Roxas could hardly feel it; his biggest concern was the way Lea was acting.

"What do you know? It's really great character building when you're a flaming pedophile who keeps blond haired children in his basement," Lea mocked, tweaking a strand of red hair between his fingers. Axel huffed, biting back quite a few words that Roxas surely hasn't, nor should he ever, heard before. This was the first time he'd been called a pedophile for having a seventeen year old living with him. He knew if the school found out, they would assume he was exactly that and fire him, not long after calling the police. There was the comforting fact that Saïx would be able to sort it out, but Axel would rather just avoid that conflict all together.

The door opened before Axel could say something to Lea, Aunt Tei making her presence known. She slammed the door loudly and stomped into the living room. Her eyes were glaring not daggers, but swords, at Lea. "You're a little shit, you know that? I can't believe you went behind my back and did all that! That guy you owed money, yeah, he tried to make a fucking move on me! Next time you need some drugs, grow some. I have almost had it with you Lea!" Aunt Tei continued her rampage into the kitchen, ripping the fridge open.

Roxas had shrunken uncertainly back on the couch and was unconsciously scooting towards Axel, who was still positioned on the floor. Axel was ignoring his aunt's outburst by innocently admiring a picture of his mom from back in high school perched atop the coffee table. He already had plans in his mind to hurry out of here as soon as possible. Roxas seemed to be ready to run out the door and hide in the car. Maybe it was the lack of stress ball that was keeping Roxas on his toes. Hopefully he wasn't upset.

Axel stood and gently tugged Roxas up by the arm. Roxas jumped up faster than expected and clung to Axel's sleeve. He was pleading Axel with his eyes, most likely to get him out of here, silently. Axel mumbled a quick goodbye to his cousin and went to find Aunt Tei. She was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and sipping her drink.

"You should learn to control your kid," Axel commented, eyeing her carefully. She looked up from her drink, casting her gaze back at the off-white tiles of her floor after she'd met Axel's gaze uncomfortably. Tei felt ashamed of her parenting and hated it when people confronted her about it.

"I don't think you should tell me how to parent my child until you've had one," she mumbled unsurely, looking at Roxas for a split second.

"I think I'm dealing with one right now," Axel said, gesturing to said blond. Roxas hadn't caught the double meaning in Axel's words. The blond was busy nervously messing around with a loose string on the hem of Axel's T-shirt.

"Well he seems like an easy little thing to handle. I mean, all he appears to do is stand there. Mine does drugs, meets the people who make the drugs, talks back, has sex—he's just insufferable Axel!" Aunt Tei cried, throwing her hands up in the air and nearly spilling her drink out.

"Or maybe you can't parent him correctly?" Axel responded, the statement seemed to be more a question than statement.

Aunt Tei frowned, clearly hating being shoved into the dirt about her job as a parent. "I think it'd be best if you leave. It was nice meeting you, blondie," Aunt Tei tried joking lightly. Roxas never looked up from the floor, though. He didn't even say goodbye as him and Axel left.

Pulling her hair into a ponytail, Tei padded into the living room. Lea was watching the TV with an expression of boredom upon his face. He held an unlit joint in his right hand, waving it around absentmindedly.

"So, how'd you like seeing Axel again? Roxas was something, too," Tei spoke and rounded the couch, sitting down at Lea's feet. He glanced at her from where his head was resting on the armrest.

"Axel, yeah, he's an idiot. Same with that little kid. Roxas, huh? He looked _really _familiar, Tei." Lea knew calling her by her first name always struck a nerve. She was his mother after all, so he should call her by her respective title. Not that he had any respect for her.

Lea was being true with what he said though. Somewhere in his past, he'd met someone like Roxas. It could have been Roxas, for all he knew. It could have been some random blond. Aunt Tei got up, in annoyance, and stalked to her bedroom. She passed beige walls full of pictures of her and Aerith as children, angered by her son's constant attitude. She never knew how to properly deal with him. He was a brat, nothing much more than that. But she loved him.

* * *

"Axel, I'm tired. And I don't like dreams," Roxas said randomly through the silence of the car. They hadn't spoken much since they left Axel's Aunt's home. Roxas wasn't acting nervous anymore, which was great, but he also didn't seem exactly happy. Axel couldn't help but think, "_Maybe if I'd stayed home and eaten Roxas's poison this morning, none of this would've gone down. Roxas would be happy and I would be puking in the toilet, but that still sounds better than visiting my dysfunctional mom's side of the family_."

"Okay," Axel responded unenthusiastically. He was tired after everything that had happened today. He couldn't wait to get home and sleep. Hopefully Roxas felt the same way, he had said that he did after all. Roxas stared out the window, clenching and unclenching his fist, wishing his stress ball was here.

* * *

I am great at making stories more confusing than they need to be. I couldn't keep writing or I think I might die. My thought process turned into shit at the end because my brothers have been bugging the shit out of me for the past hour and I'm ready to fling myself out the window.

I hate introducing new characters, I really do, but I had to introduce these two at some point. I don't just introduce characters to have them only in one chapter. I hate that, so I'm not going to do. These aren't one chapter characters. You're probably wondering why Tei isn't a FF character or a KH character. I just felt like none of those would fit the role, so you have to deal with Tei. Tei is actually the name of a character somewhere else, but all they have in common is their name. Nothing else. If you know who and where Tei is from, congrats c:


End file.
